The Tiger and Dragon: Family Ties 2
by Snafu the Great
Summary: SFxKOF xover. Sequel to Family Ties. After accepting a challenge from a female kendoist, Miya goes to Southtown with her brother. Unfortunately, Miya gets caught up with several fighters from Southtown's martial arts hierachy. NEW CHAPTER ADDED
1. Chapter 1

The Tiger and the Dragon: Family Ties 2

A Street Fighter/King of Fighters crossover fanfiction

By The Headcrook

Legal BS Disclaimer All Characters are the property of Capcom Entertainment, while Miya Hoshi is my idea, blah, blah, blah. Basically, this is the sequel to Family Ties, in which Miya goes to Southtown with her brother and rival. There she encounters and makes several friends, as well as rivals with various KOF fighters.

Chapter One: Welcome to Southtown

-Southtown International Airport, Southtown, California...-

Southtown was known for many things.

It was known as a tourist hotspot for many people. But for others who had a background in the martial arts, it eas a place where one could test their skills in one of Southtown's many underground martial arts tournaments. The city was overflown with industrial activity, and most of all, well known for it's passionate nightlife, and the interesting fights that take place in the innards of the small city. You want to learn how to survive in these streets, you better know how to fight.

It was a place which Ryu Hoshi had visited many times during his travels. And following his wedding, honeymoon and his hectic schedule as both martial artist and sensei, a vacation was in due order. For some reason or another, Miya was with him. His apprentce, Sakura was back in Japan, watching over the dojo in his absence.

Miya Hoshi had decided to tag along at the last moment with her brother to Southtown. Ryu had found out later that Miya was given a challenge from a female kendoist who lived in Southtown. Apparently, this woman had gotten Miya's name from the underground circuits in Japan. Miya had racked up an impressive win record, not to mention gaining admiration and respect from her opponents.

Ryu had also learned that since she was a former member of Shadowlaw, she had been swarmed with offers of employment from all walks of life. Ryu was amused when she told him that she had received marriage proposals, even offers for jobs from the Japanese Yakuza, various Chinese Triads, even local street gangs. She also got offers for commissions from Rolento's militia, the Ikari Defense Forces. Guile even offered her a commission in the Air Force, under the Special Forces unit he commanded, but she refused them all.

Ryu was dressed down in a black T-shirt, denim jeans and tennis shoes. His usual duffel bag was slung over one shoulder. Miya was wearing a summer dress, and a pair of sandals. Her medium-length reddish-brown hair framed her face, In one hand, she was carrying a black sportsbag.

"So who is this new challenger that wants to test your skill?" Ryu asked as he and Miya walked down the airport's terminal.

"She's a wealthy businesswoman who is also one of the top-ranked kendoists in the world. Eimi Sakamura. Her father is a top Yakuza chieftain back in Kyoto," Miya explained. "I went to school with her younger brother. It was he who delivered the challenge to me back in Japan."

Like Ryu, Miya also was challenged by various fighters from all walks of life, the majority of them being members of various criminal elements and gangs. Those that tested the female Hoshi's dazzling swordplay ended up losing, but in the end, developed a high degree of respect for both Miya and her skills with the sword. With her combined winnings from various kendo tournaments (not to mention a ton of pilfered money from Shadowlaw's finances), Miya planned on opening a kendo school back in Tokyo, but had to put her plans on hold when the challenge came in.

Ryu was slightly worried that gangsters and hoodlums were on Miya's doorstep, challenging her to a fight, but he realises that he was the same way. Shortly before departing from Japan, Miya had turned down yet another marriage proposal from a well-established head of a Yakuza clan. At the age of eighteen, Miya wasn't ready to become a housewife. Like Chun Li, she lived the life of a carefree girl who has a penchant for motorcycles and kendo.

"So when's the challenge?" Ryu asked.

"In five days," Miya replied. She then looked around. "I thought that Ken was going to pick us up from the airport."

The Masters Foundation had offices in Southtown. Ken Masters was there on an inspection tour of the foundation's West Coast offices, Southtown being the last stop on his tour as Vice President of the Masters Foundation. He was also the reigning Pan-American champion, and Ryu's top rival, other than Miya's mentor, Victor Sagat.

They went through customs without a hitch and were on their way towards the baggage claim when Ryu caught sight of Ken first. The Masters family heir was in a black business suit, his dyed reddidh-blonde hair (yes, Ken did dye his hair in the official storyline) tied back, with several strands hanging over his face.

Ken saw them coming and rushed over to them. "Hey! You're here!" he said, greeting Ryu in his usual way, him slamming his fist into Ryu's own. He turned and greets Miya with a hug. "Never thought you'd come with Ryu, Miya."

"I was challenged by a female kendoist who lives here," Miya replied. "So I decided to tag along."

"You ever been here before?" Ken asked as the trio walked towards the exit. "It's quite a place."

"I've dropped in here from time to time, back when I was in Shadowlaw," Miya replied. "When I was out on leave, I would occasionally come here."

The trio exited the airport, where Ken had a limo waiting. The driver opened the door for Ryu, Ken and Miya, who all got in.

"So how's Chun Li?" Ken asked.

"She's good," Ryu replied. "She had to go to a law enforcement seminar in Honolulu. She said that she'll come here once the seminar is over. And Eliza?"

Ken grinned and replied, "Her job as a photographer's kept her busy so she'll be here in the next few days."

Ken had met Eliza shortly after the first Street Fighter tournament. She was a photojournalist major who worked at the local newspaper when she met Ken while on assignment with a reporter who was reporting on the Masters Foundation. Since then, she had became one of the most sought-after photographers on the West Coast.

"Did you tell her?" Ken asked, breaking Ryu's chain of thought.

"Tell me what?" Miya inquired.

"Southtown is home to the rivals of Ansatsuken," Ryu explained. "The Kyokugenryu School."

"Kyokugenryu?" Miya inquired.

"'Extreme Upmost Limit.' That's what it means," Ryu said. "Both Ansatsuken and Kyokugenryu has its origins from Shotokan Karate, but our styles are incredibly different. The founder of Kyokugenryu, Takuma Sakazaki, was Gouken's rival. Kyokugenryu also has multiple forms based on a level of study, while there are only two in Ansatsuken."

"There's only two in our fighting style?" Miya asked. Like Ryu and Ken, she was also a black belt in Ansatsuken, having taken a nine-month crash course in the art. It also helped that Miya had both Ryu and Ken's combat data as well, combining both her brother and Ken's Ansatsuken styles into her own unique version of Ansatsuken.

"Yeah," Ryu replied. "Almost of all of Ansatsuken's techniques are designed to kill the opponent in one blow. Which is why it is fitting that Ansatsuken is known as the 'Murderous or Assassin's Fist' when translated."

Ken jerked a thumb to Ryu. "Your brother here is proficient in both the lethal and non-lethal versions of Ansatsuken, but he prefers the non-lethal moves while fighting."

"So I've already seen," Miya replied.

"And even today, the rivalry continues," Ken said. "And not only you're Ryu's sister, but also a praticioner of the Ansatsuken style, So more than likely, you'll most likely be caught up in the rivalry as well."

"Great," Miya replied. "Things were starting to get a bit boring anyway. I could use the excerise."

"Oh, there's more," Ken continued. "What do you know about the Garcia Corporation?"

Miya thought about it for a moment. "Well, from what I heard about them back in Shadowlaw, they're in the same business as the Masters Foundation. What about them?"

"Alberto Garcia's son, Robert, is like me, the vice-president of his family's company. He is also a student of Kyokugenryu, not to mention one of my more persistent rivals."

"And then there's Geese Howard," Ryu added.

Miya nodded. "I know about him already. He's the big-time crime boss here. I read the file on him back when I was in Shadowlaw. Expert in Kobujitsu and the Hakkyokuseiken fighting style, whose lethality is that of the same level as that of Ansatsuken. General Bison had plans to move into Southtown after the Street Fighter tournament and the planned on seizing control of Geese's criminal empire. Fortunately, that didn't come to pass."

"We also got friends here as well," Ryu said.

Miya nodded. "The Bogards. I met them at the wedding." She looked at Ken. "Ken, did my package arrive at the hotel yet?"

Ken nodded and handed her a cardboard tube several feet long with the word **FRAGILE** emblazoned on the side, along with the hotel's address. Miya opened it, reached inside and pulled out her beloved Murumasa sword and checked it.

"You sure love that sword, don't you," Ryu asked dryly.

"It's my favorite weapon," Miya replied. "And besides, this was the only way that I could get my sword through rather than try and sneak it into the country. I DO need this for my upcoming duel in a couple of days. I've done this type of thing before, back when I was in Shadowlaw."

"Some habits rarely die hard," Ryu noted dryly.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter Two: First Encounter with the Kyokugenryu School

Note: For those who are curious, I modeled Miya (in appearance) after her character in the SF comic, and Lynn Kurosawa from the Alien vs Predator arcade game.

Having been to Southtown on leave back in Shadowlaw, Miya knew the city extremely well. It was even one of the places she and her mother had talked about moving to before settling on Japan.

Following their check-in at the hotel that she, her brother and Ken were staying in, Miya decided to take a shower, change clothes and take a stroll through the city streets while Ryu took a nap and Ken went off to conduct Masters Foundation business.

Of course, Miya was getting stares from the various men who passed her. Dressed in white cotton tanktop and plaid mini-skirt (which was a inch above her knees) and her old pair of Shadowlaw boots, the younger Hoshi was strolling through Chinatown's open air market clearly enjoying herself.

She then saw something that made her smile. It was a motorcycle, parked in front of a restaurant. Miya looked over and inspected it. Whoever's bike it was she deduced that the person had good taste in bikes.

From inside the restaurant, the bike's owner saw that Miya was inspecting his bike. He rose from his table and walked outside. "Excuse me," he said.

The owner appeared to be older than Miya, probably around Ryu's age, and a combination of both Japanese and American, with reddish-blond hair. He, like Miya was dressed in street clothes.

Miya looked up. "Sorry," she apologized. "Is this your bike?"

"Yeah. It is."

"This is a Yamaha, right?" Miya inquired. "A Fazer 600?"

The man was impressed with Miya's knowledge on bikes. "Yeah. You're not from around here, aren't you?"

Miya shook her head. "Just visiting with my brother and his friend. You did most of the work on it yourself?"

"Yeah. Trying to build a motorbike using cash you bring in from trying to market Kyokugenryu as a self-defense style does has its benefits."

At the word 'Kyokugenryu,' Miya immediately remembered Ken saying that Ansatsuken's rivals were in the city. "Kyokugenryu? Strange name for a fighting style. But then again, it's a lot better than saying Extreme Upmost Limit."

"I know. It's a mouthful," the man replied. "What's your name?"

"Miya."

"Well, Miya," the man said, "if you're interested in a course in Kyokugenryu, then you've come to the right man."

Miya folded her arms across her chest. "And you are?"

"Ryo. Ryo Sakazaki," the man introduced himself with a sense of pride in his voice.

At that moment, Ryo's girlfriend stepped out of the restaurant. A French woman with short blonde hair and also in casual attire. She had a cross look on her face seeing her boyfriend talking to another girl. "Ryo! What the hell are you doing?"

It was Miya that saved him. "I was just admiring your boyfriend's bike here. Reminds me of the one I have at home." She gave the blonde woman a reassuring smile. "I don't steal other women's boyfriends."

The other woman was not convinced. "Oh, I'm sure."

Ryo stepped in. "She's telling the truth, King. Just calm down."

"She don't want to believe me, then that's fine," Miya replied matter of factly. "Oh, and as for your lessons in Kyokugenryu, Ryo...I'll pass."

"You sure about that?"

Miya nodded. "I'm also a martial artist, so I have no need for it. Nice bike though."

Miya turned and walked away. As they watched her disappear in the crowd, Ryo said to King, "There's something about her that reminds me of someone..."

Back at the hotel, Miya found Ryu in his hotel room. She told him about her run-in with the elder Sakazaki and his girlfriend. Fortunately, neither Ryo nor King didn't know that Miya was Ryu's sister.

"Oh, they will soon enough," Ryu said.

The knock on the door interrupted them. The door opened and in walked Ken. "Hey guys. Did I miss anything?"

"Not a whole lot," Miya replied.

"Just that Miya had a small run-in with Sakazaki," Ryu noted. "He deosn't know about her yet anyway. So what do you want?"

"I'm going out tonight," Ken replied. "And I was wondering if you two would come along."

"Where you going?" Miya asked.

"Pao Pao Cafe. Ryu's been there before with me. It's a pretty wild place. You'll like it."

"Sounds like fun," Miya replied. "I'm game."


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter Three: Rumble at the Pao Pao Cafe

One of Southtown's most famous (or in some cases, infamous) establishments was the Pao Pao Cafe. It had good food, the atmosphere was friendly and there were fights there on a daily basis for cash prizes. The owner, Brazilian-born Richard Meyer, was also a martial artist, proficient in the art of Capoeira, as was his apprentice, Bob Wilson.

The latter, was watching the front door as Ryu, Ken and Miya approached. Both Ken and Ryu were dressed in semi-casual attire, while Miya changed from her previous outfit into a white blouse, which was hidden by the black vest she wore over it, black denim pants and her Shadowlaw boots. A thigh-length jacket covered most of her outfit as they walked up to the front door.

Bob let them in without any problems...eventhough Miya had smuggled her Muramasa inside, out of pure habit.

The Pao Pao Cafe was indeed big, with two floors, a balcony on one side with a VIP lounge, complete with tables, and a raised platform where several men and women dressed in Capoeira fighting attire stood beside the ring, playing instruments and performing an exhibition for the gathered audience.

Note: The song that they're playing is Richard Meyer's theme from the first Fatal Fury game.

Miya walked down the steps, with Ryu and Ken behind her. "This is my kind of place," the female kendoist said. "I could become a regular here, if I was staying in the city."

The three righters took a seat. Ryu flagged down a waitress and she took their orders. Miya removed her sword from her hiding place and placed it along the table.

Ignoring the looks that her brother and Ken were giving her, Miya shrugged her shoulders and replied, "Force of habit."

As the trio waited for their dinner, several people were watching them from two different tables, and from the bar. From the bar, was the aforementioned owner of the Pao Pao Cafe, Richard Meyer and his protegee, Bob Wilson. From another table, was a Japanese woman, and seated at a third table were three women, the girlfriends of three of Southtown's top fighters.

King looked over to where Miya was sitting and immediately frowned. Mary Ryan followed her friend's gaze. "What is it, King?"

King pointed over to where Miya was sitting. "It's her from earlier. The girl I told you about." She then recognized both Ryu and Ken. "And she's with those two."

Mai Shiranui looked over to where Miya was sitting. "She's with Ryu and Ken. So she probably has ties with the Ansatsuken dojo."

"I've heard about her," Mary said. "She's supposed to be a former operative from Shadowlaw who's an expert with a sword. Terry also told me that that girl is Ryu's little sister and a master of several fighting styles, including Ansatsuken."

"Ryu Hoshi has a kid sister?" King replied. "I'll bet Ryo and the others will have a field day when the'll find out about this," she added knowung full well of the rivalry between the two schools. King had also heard that Ryu was now married and had settled fown in Japan, but continued to travel for various martial arts tournaments all over the world.

Mai took notice of the Muaramasa sword that was perched near Miya. 'Nice sword.'

The three women watched as Richard Meyer and Bob Wilson approached the three Ansatsuken fighters' table.

Miya looked at the two men that stood over her brother and Ken before taking a sip of her water. "Can I help you?" she asked.

Meyer pointed to Miya's sheathed sword. "I hope you don't plan on causing trouble with that weapon of yours," he said in English.

"Only if trouble finds me first," Miya replied calmly. "You need not worry. My sword imtimidates people more than me having to use it. You're the owner?"

Meyer nodded. "I am. Richard Meyer, owner of this establishment." He pointed to his dreadlocked protegee. "My student and co-manager, Bob Wilson."

"You should ask her to leave," Bob said in Portuguese to his boss/master. "We haven't seen her before until tonight. And besides, people with swords scare me."

"You can say I have that effect on people."

Both Meyer and Wilson looked at Miya in shock as she smoothly replied in Portuguese. Smirking at their shocked expressions, Miya continued to speak to them in their native language. Even Ken was surprised.

"Appearances can be very misleading, Mr. Wilson," Miya said. She trailed one finger across the sword's handle. "But rest assure that I won't cause any trouble while I'm here. However, I will be the one that will finish it should trouble finds me."

"You speak Portuguese well," Meyer said in his native tongue. "You've obivously been to Brazil."

"I've dropped by there in my...previous line of work," Miya replied politely. "Very exotic."

"Hmm..." This time Meyer spoke in English. "Enjoy your visit in Southtown." He and Wilson left their table without further incident.

"You never told me that you spoke Portuguese," Ken said.

Miya shrugged her shoulders. "You never asked. Besides, there are manythings you don't know about me. All you knew was that I'm a former Shadowlaw operative who's a motorcycle freak. Speaking of which, you didn't tell me that you taught Ryu how to ride a bike."

Ken remembered Ryu telling him that his motorcycle lessons came in handy when he, Miya and Chun Li chased Doctrine Dark and Cracker Jack through the streets of Tokyo following several attempts on his and Chun Li's lives following the last tournament.

"And to think when you know some people," Miya said.

She was then interrupted when a newcomer came to her table. It was a local fighter and occasional participant of the weekly fights that the Pao Pao Cafe held, a bald Thai kickboxer by the name of Hwa Jai.

With a lecherous grin, he looked Miya up and down, ignoring the death stares of her brother and Ken. "You're pretty," he said in Thai-accented English. "How about a date?"

Miya looked at him and responded in Thai. Whatever she had said pissed Hwa Jai off plenty, since he roughly placed his hand on her shoulder. Before he could get a word out, Miya's hand was on his twisting it from her shoulder, making the kickboxer wince and cry out in pain.

Rising to her feet, she tossed him to the ground. When Hwa Jai got back to his feet, he saw that Miya was waiting for him in the ring, a smug expression on her face. Seeing the veiled challenge, Hwa Jai followed her into the ring.

Bets were now starting to take place. Most of them were on Hwa Jai. Ken, however, knew better. He placed his money on Miya.

"You're going to lose something very importantant tonight, you little whore," Hwa Jai threatened as he went into his stance.

Miya cracked her knuckles and went into her Lethwei stance, saying nothing.

King watched in interest at Miya. 'She knows Muay Thai?' she wondered.

Hwa Jai attacked first, but Miya parried and quickly counterattacked. She punched him square in the face. To Hwa Jai, it felt like he was getting his face bashed in with a brick. Once, twice, three times, followed by an elbow which knocked the male kickboxer to the ground.

As the fight progressed, Miya proceeded to pick apart Hwa Jai when he made several mistakes. From her table, King watched Miya, sizing her up. It had been a while since she had a good challenge and Miya Hoshi looked like she could give it to her.

Meanwhile, a third party numbering six men, attracted by the noise from downstairs, emerged from the VIP lounge and watched from the balcony. They were lead by the 'King of Southtown' himself, Geese Howard. Standing beside him, was his most trusted fighter, Billy Kane. As with his boss, he was dressed in a business suit, only his was brown and he was wearing his red-and-white bandanna. Geese noticed the look on his subordinate's face as he watched Miya fight with nothing but contempt in his eyes.

During the fight, a third kickboxer entered the cafe. Joe Higashi wasked in and what he saw was an angel in the ring, beating the crap out of Hwa Hai.

As for Hwa Jai, he was down and out for the count. Miya stood above him, pratically unscathed. Everyone who had betted money on Hwa Jai was incredibly pissed that they had lost their money. Three men and women a woman entered the ring and surrounded Miya.

From the balcony, Geese turned to Billy. "So...this is the one who bested you?" he asked.

Billy could only nod as the battle played over in his mind. Sometime after Cracker Jack and Doctrine Dark's deaths, Billy was in Japan on vacation when he heard about Miya's unrivaled abilities with the Muramasa and decided to check it out, seeing an opportunity to add another win to his record. Instead, Billy was beaten. He was beaten before by the Bogard brothers, but this loss against Miya was far worse than the pounding he took from either brother.

What made it worse was that Miya wasn't even trying.

As the men surrounded her, Miya shifted her stance. Instead of using either Ansatsuken or Lethwei, she went with Shadowlaw Commando, a style she was also lethal in, but rarely used.

While Billy watched with loathing in his eyes, Geese was watching with general interest. He also noticed that Ryu was among the spectators along with the Masters family heir. He then started to wonder what was the link between Miya and Ryu, until Billy confirmed it for him.

"Ryu is Miya's brother, and trained in the Ansatsuken style," Billy deadpanned.

Geese folded his arms across his chest. "Hmm...interesting."

Geese had heard about Ryu and of the Ansatsuken style, whose power rivaled that of the Hakkyokuseiken. The killing ability of Ansatsuken had intrigued Geese, having seen Ryu in action and knowing that he was a master in both the light and dark sides of the aforementioned fighting style. He also heard rumors about a relative of Ryu's who was the master of the ultimate killing technique. Billy confirmed one of the rumors concerning Miya's lineage, but the ultimate killing technique was something that had to be looked up at a later time.

But he put those thoughts aside as he watched Miya fight her new challengers.

Joe watched from his place at the bar. As Miya fought and knocked out her opponents one by one, it was like she was performing a martial arts ballet for the Japanese kickboxer.

Right now, Miya wasn't even breaking a sweat as she thrashed the newcomers. Even Richard Meyer and Bob Wilson was impressed and in awe by her skill. Some of them had gotten their shots in, but Miya powered on through.

King on the other hand, had seen enough. Once the final fighter was down for the count, King stood up from her seat and jumped into the ring.

"Not bad," she said. "Or was it just luck?"

Miya turned to face her new challenger. "Oh. It's you."

King smirked as she went into her stance. "Those guys were nothing. Let's see how you do against a fighter like me."

"Ooh...Muay Thai. This should be interesting." Miya grinned from the challenge as she went into her Lethwei stance. Actually it was a Muay Thai stance taught to her by Sagat back when she was in Shadowlaw, but it was something that Miya used.

Miya held her stance for several minutes...then lowered them, provoking King to attack. Her bluff worked as King threw a straight punch at her head, only to see Miya dodged it. King threw out several more punches, but Miya dodged them all, bobbing and weaving like a boxer would.

Miya swatted King's next attack aside and landed a backhand to the side of the French martial artist's temple. She then followed with a hard elbow to the gut, knocking the wind out of King. King recovered and landed a cross on Miya's face. King then proceeded to tag Miya with several bows, but was shocked to see that they didn't even faze her. When King moved in, Miya grabbed her and began to knee her repeatedly.

Then Miya kicked King with her left leg, spun around then stuck her with her right foot, lifting King off the ground and into the air, until Miya was doing a vertical split. Then she slammed King to the ground and kicked her away.

Mai and Mary winced at the move Miya performed on their friend.

The fight continued, Miya clearly gaining the upper hand on King, landing blow after blow on her without mercy.

King, on the other hand, was hurting all over. But she still had one last trick up her sleeve.

As Miya moved in, King executed her final attack: the Illusion Dance.

King backflipped and lunged into Miya, unleashing a torrent of kicks upon the younger woman. But if King had noticed (but everyone else did), was that Miya was blocking and parrying every one of her blows.

Then Miya caught her leg, just as its foot was about to connect to her face.

"Wha--" King gasped.

"My turn," Miya replied as she knocked King's leg aside.

King was hard pressed as she blocked a volley of Miya's kicks and punches. To King, it seemed that they were coming from everywhere. High, low, left, and right. King managed to get her in a hold, but Miya slammed her head into hers, forcing King to break the hold.

"The hell!" King shouted. "Muay Thai doesn't allow headbutts!"

Miya smiled evilly. "But Kachin Lethwei does."

'Lethwei?' King thought.

From the sidelines, Joe was also thinking, 'Kachin-style Lethwei? That's Burmese kickboxing!'

Thirty seconds later, King was left stunned from several connecting blows. Miya looked at the sight before her and instead of knocking her out, simply gave her a little shove, making King fall over. King, fortunately, was unconscious when she hit the ground.

As Mary and Mai rusged over to their unconscious friend, Miya turned to exit the ring, but a final challenger had leapt in.

"Stop right there, you little tart."

Miya turned around. Billy Kane had entered the ring, his trademark six-foot red pole in hand. He had discarded his suit jacket and tie.

"Billy Kane," Miya replied without missing a beat. "So nice to see you again."

Billy twirled his staff. "You were lucky the last time we fought," he said. "You won't get lucky a second time."

Miya shrugged her shoulders as she motioned for Ryu to hand over her sword. "Who said it was luck?" the former Shadowlaw operative replied as she caught her sword from the air after Ryu tossed it to her. "I defeated you fair and square. You're just a sore loser, Kane." She pulled out her sword. "But if you want a rematch, then I'll guess I'll have to oblige." She raised her sword in a formal salute before shifting into a classic kendo stance.

Meyer and Wilson had some trouble in taking all of the bets, most of them for Billy. They knew the pole master both by his reputation as Geese's right hand man and fighter, and thought that he wasn't going to lose to an upstart like Miya.

Billy attacked with a series of staff swings. Miya calmly played defensive as she parried and dodged the Englishman's staff attacks. Miya counterattacked by launching a series of precision strikes with the Muramasa sword, forcing Billy on the defensive. One thing about Miya was that she had embraced various styles of Asian and even European swordfighting, such as Épée, Iado, Yagyu Shinkage-ryu, Escrima, Ninjitsu, Kenjitsu, Akido, Kendo, Koryu bujutsu and various others, and that made her swordfighting much more dangerous.

The fighting, meanwhile, had went outside the ring and was currently, heading up the stairs and onto the second floor balcony, the patrons getting out of the way, lest they end up being part of the battle in a most bad way.

Miya had flipped out of the way of Billy's staff, which had amazing range when broken into three parts, and had landed on the second floor railing. Her center of balance perfect, Miya beckoned Billy to follow. Billy purused his opponent, only thing was his balance wasn't as perfect as Miya's.

Miya used that to her advantage. After several intense minutes dueling on the balcony, Billy was sent down the stairs and back into the ring. Miya, on the other hand, simply slid down the stairs' railing, and gracefully somersaulted into the ring.

Billy scrambled to his feet as Miya slowly advanced. "Typical. Have you learned anything new, Billy?"

"How about THIS!" Billy yelled as he began to spin his staff, creating a circle of flames.

Miya readied her sword...

Billy flung the projectile at Miya...

...who swung her Muramasa at the circle of flames, directing it back to Billy, forcing him to block his own move. It was, however, too much for Billy, as the force of his own technique sent him sprawling to the ground, his staff breaking upon impacting with the move.

It was over. Miya had won. Billy was unconscious from taking his own move.

And everyone that had betted on Billy Kane to win the match ended up losing a lot of money.

Miya turned from the downed fighter and walked away. As she picked up her scabbard and placed her sword inside, Geese Howard stepped into the ring.

"Stop right there."

Miya turned around, and found herself face-to-face with the Southtown mobster himself. Placing her sheathed Muramasa sword on one shoulder, she looked at Geese without a hint of fear in her eyes.

Geese looked at Billy, who was being tended to by two of his henchmen, then back at Miya. "That was my best man," he said.

"If you say so." Miya sized the older man up. "You're a lot taller than you look in the pictures, Mr. Howard."

"And you're fighting styles are most impressive indeed. I hope for your sake that you didn't kill Billy."

"I was lenient," Miya replied. "I don't kill without provocation or cause."

"A code of honor, coming from someone of your...remarkable talents. No wonder they call you the 'Muramasa Emperess.'" Geese thought for a moment. "Hmm...I could use a person like you working for me. So what do you say, Miya? I could use you as an enforcer here in Southtown. Maybe as a bodyguard. And the rewards working for me will be extremely great."

Miya thought about it for a moment. "My answer is no, Mr. Howard," Miya replied. "I serve no master but myself."

"Pity," Geese said. "Such a waste of talent. You could have been somebody, Miya."

Miya had read the profile on Geese Howard. She knew that he was one of the best fighters in the world. But Geese also knew that his counter moves would not probably work on a woman wielding a Muramasa sword, after seeing her beat Billy without breaking a sweat.

"She IS somebody, Howard."

A third person - a woman - stepped into the ring. She was Japanese, older than Miya, but younger than Geese, probably in her mid-to-late twenties and smartly dressed in a women's business suit with skirt. Following close behind, were two of her loyal bodyguards.

"In fact, that's the reason why I had her to come to Southtown," the woman finished.

Geese turned to the smaller woman. "Just because your father's a big-time Yakuza chieftain doesn't mean that I could squash his daughter like a bug," he threatened. "So back off, Sakamura."

Eimi Sakamura merely smiled. "Quite the contrary. I bought her here to Southtown to challenge her to a duel. So if you want Miya, then you'll have to get in line, because I'm first." Her smile then took on a steely hardness. "You know what my father is capable of, Geese. I may not be Yakuza, but I'm the only thing that's keeping my father from making a hostile takeover of your territory, and you know it."

Geese knew that she was right. Her father was one of the most powerful Yakuza chieftains in Japan and he had his eyes set on Southtown for a long time. Geese had spent nearly fifteen years securing his position as the head of Southtown's criminal world and the last thing that he nor anyone else needed was a bloody gang war that was to surely leave Southtown in ruins and many people dead, himself probably included.

"This isn't over, Sakamura," Geese threatened.

"For now, it is," Eimi replied flatly.She pointed to Billy. "See after your man."

Geese left the cafe, his men carrying Billy out. As the Southtown mobster passed Ryu and Ken, Geese locked eyes with the Japanese Ansatsuken fighter, Ryu looking back without a sense of fear as Geese passed.

Once Geese was gone, Eimi turned to Miya. "That was fun," she said with a hint of sarcasm in her voice. "Your reputation proceeds you, Miya. You're everything that my brother told you to be."

"So you were scouting me?" Miya asked.

"Not really. I like coming in here when I leave work." She looked at Ryu, who approached the both of them. "And this is your brother? The Ansatsuken fighter that brought down Shadowlaw?"

Ryu nodded. "I am."

"A great honor to meet you in person," Eimi said inclining her head. She then turned to Miya. "Not everyone could beat Billy Kane the way you did."

Miya shrugged her shoulders. "There were some rough spots in the end, but not too tough."

Eimi eyed the Muramasa on Miya's shoulder. "May I?" she asked.

Miya handed over her sword to Eimi. The Japanese businesswoman slowly pulled out the blade and inspected it. "This weapon is very exquisite, Miya. Very balanced indeed." She sheathed her sword and handed it back to Miya. "Word of advice, Miya. You should watch yourself in this city. People tent to try and make a name for themselves by taking on the strongest fighter. And aside from Geese, you and your brother are most likely it."

"Thanks for the advice," Miya replied.

"That's free, but I don't want nothing to happen to you before our match. I want you at the top of your game when we fight." She then turned and walked out, her two bodyguards following close behind.

Meanwhile, Ken was busy collecting his winnings. Approaching Miya, he handed her the majority of the cash. "Here you go," he said. "Consider this a gift for your kendo school, courtesy of the Masters Foundation."

"Thanks," Miya said as she pocketed the cash. Meanwhile, King was being carried out by both Mary and Mai.

-Kyokugenryu School/Sakazaki Family Home, later on...-

Ryo Sakazaki's voice was heard throughout the house. "WHO DID THIS!"

"We were at the Pao Pao Cafe when it happened," Mary replied as she and Mai tended to King. "There was this girl who came with Ryu and Ken--"

Ryo cut her off. "Ryu and Ken? Those two from the Ansatsuken school?"

Yuri Sakazaki looked at King's injuries. "Ryu's student couldn't have done this. I've seen her fight before. Someone else had done this."

"It was his sister," Mary replied.

Ryo and Yuri looked up. "Sister?" they both repeated.

Then Ryo remembered the girl that had been checking out his bike earlier that day. He then put the two together. "That girl..."

Mai looked up. "What girl?"

"There was a girl that King and I met earlier today," Ryo explained.

Mary looked at Ryo. "Was she about five-feet-six, brown hair tied into a ponytail, likes motorcycles?"

Ryo nodded eagerly. "That's her. Who is she?"

"Her name is Miya Hoshi," Mary explained. "Her specialty is swordfighting. She is also an expert in hand-to-hand combat as well, from what we saw."

Yuri scoffed. "She can't be that good."

"She took on Hwa Jai, beat him, then several more fighters lost to her," Mai explained. "Then King challenged her and you see the results."

"Then Billy Kane challenged her," Mary cut in, "And we all know that Billy's tough as they come. Even Andy had trouble defeating him. Miya fought him and beaten him."

"She's pretty amazing with that sword of hers," Mai noted. "I noticed that she knew several styles of swordfighting, Ninjitsu included."

"From the moves she showed," Mary said, "She could probably give Geese a run for his money."

"She can't be that good," Ryo said.

"Yes she is," both Mary and Mai replied.

"Whatever," Ryo replied. "I'm going to see them tomorrow. And I want an explaination as to why she had to beat King so badly."


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter Four: Second Encounter with the Kyokugen School

Note: There's a Resident Evil reference in here.

The next day...

In a secluded section of the city's park, Ryu watched as Ken and Miya sparred. Both men were dressed in their respective gis: Ryu, white; and Ken, red. Only Miya stood out from the two men. She was wearing a black sleevless shirt, the design on the back was that of the legend 'Made in Heaven,' complete with a picture of a winged angel holding a bomb in one hand, and a pair of gray gi pants. A black belt was tied around her waist. On her hands were a pair of red fighting gloves that she had made from a pair of Ryu's old gloves he didn't wear anymore. Her Muramasa sword was tucked behind her back.

"You're lucky I'm a gentleman," Ken said as he dodged Miya's attacks. "Otherwise, I'd have to lay you out."

Miya scoffed. "A gentleman? YOU? You're just scared that I might drop you!" She then performed a Kama Barai Geri, or Sweeping Scythe Kick. Ken was forced to duck under his own move.

Since taking a crash course in Ansatsuken, Miya had combined both her brother and Ken's styles into one unique and totally unpredictable style that made her more dangerous. Ryu was even more amazed as to Miya's learning abilities when it came to martial arts. In just six months' time, she was a black belt, only a rank lower than her brother and Ken.

Both Miya and Ken leapt into the air. Ken grabbed her, and performed his Jigoku Fuusha, the Hell Windmill. Miya simply flipped out of the throw, the same way Ken would flip out of Ryu's throws whenever Ken gave him a noogie. Miya landed gracefully on her feet.

"Get ready..." Miya began. "Kuzuryuu Reppa!"

She then lunged at Ken, and threw out a solid volley of kicks, the same way Ken would do should he was performing the Shippujinrai Kyaku. Instead of the rising Hurricane Gale Kick, Miya surprised both Ryu and Ken by performing not two but three consecutive Dragon Punches, ala Ken's Shoryuureppa.

Ken was forced to backflip away from Miya's attack as she landed on her feet. Ken looked at her with an surprized look on his face. Miya grinned. "I was working on that move for about a month."

"Kuzuryuu Reppa," Ryu repeated. "'The Nine-Headed Dragon Destroyer.' Improvization...creativity. Most impressive."

"More like amateur stuff, it you ask me."

The three martial artists turned to the intruders. Ryo Sakazaki, along with his sister Yuri and fellow Kyokugenryu fighter Robert Garcia were standing there.

Yuri looked at Miya. She appeared to be around her age, but she was going to find out the hard way about Miya's abilities.

"You would know about being amateurs, wouldn't you, Garcia?" Ken replied to his business rival's barb.

Before Robert could reply to Ken's insult, Ryo spoke to Miya.

"Have you any idea as to what you've done to King?" he said.

"You weren't there last night," Miya replied. "She challenged me and I gave it to her. It's not my fault that she lost."

This time, it was Yuri that spoke up. "She doesn't look like much. How she managed to beat King, Billy and Hwa Jai is beyond me. I'd say it was luck."

"In my previous line of work," Miya replied. "There is no such thing as luck in the fighting arena. You either win or lose. King found out last night."

"I'll show you!" With that, Yuri threw out a punch. Miya simply grabbed the female Kyokugenryu student's wrist and flipped her on her back. Yuri jumped back to her feet and went into her stance. Miya, on the other hand, removed her sword from her belt and handed it to Ken. Miya went into her Ansatsuken stance (i.e. Violent Ken's stance from SvC Chaos).

"For the record," Miya began. "You bring this onto yourself."

The four men backed away from the two women. Yuri attacked with several punches and kicks, followed by a Raiouken. Miya respoinded by leaping into the air, channeling her ki in both hands and fired off two Zankuu Hadoukens. Yuri scrambled back in order to avoid the double fireballs, each making a small impact crater in the ground.

When Yuri moved in, Miya quickly moved behind her. Before Yuri realized what had happened, Miya's arms were around her waist. Yuri then felt her feet leaving the ground as Miya picked her up and suplexed her onto the grass. Yuri landed shoulder-first, then bounced and landed on her stomach.

As Yuri struggled to her feet, Miya remained in her stance. Her eyes were closed as the look on her face was that of complete and total serenity. Miya then opened her eyes. "Do you yield?" the female Ansatsuken fighter asked.

"I don't give up!" Yuri yelled.

As the fight continued, two men watched the fight not too far away. One was Joe Higashi, the other was Terry's younger brother, Andy Bogard.

Joe pointed to Miya. "Hey! It's her!"

"Who?" Andy asked.

"The girl from the cafe! The one who beat King, Hwa Jai and Billy Kane."

Andy looked at the girl. "That's Ryu's sister. I met her in Hong Kong when Ryu had gotten married to Chun Li."

"Whoever she is," Joe bubbled, "she's an angel."

"Who is currently beating the crap out of Yuri," Andy added.

Meanwhile, a fourth person arrived at the battle scene. The male Sakazaki and Robert turned and saw that it was the current Kyokugenryu master, Takuma Sakazaki.

"What is this?" the Sakazaki patriarch grumbled, arms folded across his chest.

Ryo pointed to Miya. "That's her."

Takuma looked at Miya. "So that's the one that bested your girlfriend? The sister of Ryu Hoshi?"

Robert nodded.

As Yuri threw out punch after punch, and kick after kick, Miya camply blocked and parried the blows, all the while, tagging Yuri with blows after blow, all the while Miya calmly spoke to Yuri. "There is no such thing as luck. There is only passion. Through passion, comes strength. Through strength, comes power. Through power, comes knowledge." She then performed an Oosoto Mawashi Geri, or Greater Outer Spinning Kick, the blow sending Yuri spinning to the ground.

It was the philosophy of Ansatsuken, something that Ryu had told her while he was training her, and she was reciting it out of habit. "Through knowledge...comes serenity. There is no chaos, only harmony. Through harmony, I gain victory. The power of Ansatsuken shall free me."

Yuri scrambled to her feet. Raising her arms to her face, she summoned her ki to deliver the final blow that would send Miya to the ground. However, Miya was thinking along the same lines as she went into Ansatsuken's horse stance (the pose which Akuma taunts you with) as she summoned her own ki.

Yuri, as well as her family knew that the Haohshoukouken, or the Supreme King Flying Roaring Fist, was one of Kyokugenryu's most powerful attacks. Several of Southtown's top fighters, the Bogard brothers included, had fell to the power of the devestating technique. And Yuri hoped that Miya would be another tally mark to the awesome power of Kyokugenryu.

"Yaaa...Kyokugenryu final attack..." Yuri then released a massive wall of orange ki. "Haohshoukouken!"

Miya responded with her own final technque, also releasing a equally massive wall of purple ki at Yuri. "Garyuu Hakaisha Hadou!"

Miya's Garyuu Hakaisha Hadou, or Great Destroyer Surge, was her version of her brother's Shinkuu Hadouken. The only difference was that since Miya had used a combination of the Dark Hadou and Psycho Power, which she called 'Psycho Hadou,' her fireball expanded (i.e. Akuma's Messatsu Gohadou from SF3 Third Strike).

What happened next shocked the Kyokugenryu fighters. As both Miya and Yuri's ki attacks met, the former's ki literally absorbed Yuri's and continued on its course. Yuri had only enough time to roll out of the way in order to avoid the incoming blow. The devastating ki attack smashed into a tree, reducing it to splinters.

Yuri looked at the tree, then back at Miya. "What...what are you?" she gapsed.

Miya lowered her hands. "I'm complicated," she deadpanned.

As Miya turned and walked away, Yuri charged at her from behind.

Big mistake.

One thing that Miya had learned from her experiences in Shadowlaw and from training under various masters, Sagat and Ryu included, was that you should never let your guard down.

As Yuri swung her fist at the back of Miya's head, much to her brother, father and boyfriend's chargin, Miya quickly spun on her heels and raised her index and middle finger, stopping Yuri's fist cold. With her other hand, she balled it into a fist and sent it smashing into the side of Yuri's face, causing her to spin a complete 180 degrees. When Yuri spun back around to face Miya...

"Kuzuryuu Reppa!"

Yuri ended up being on the receiving end of Miya's move. Ken had to admit that combining his two specials was indeed impressive, and at the same time, incredibly devestating. Miya finished Yuri off and Yuri was sent flying back to her family, landing in front of them with a soft thud.

The match was over.

The last thing she said before losing consciousness was, "Father...forgive me..."

"As I've said before," Miya calmly stated. "There is no such thing as luck in martial arts. You simply win or...lose."

Ryo looked back up at Miya and stood up. He was ready to go at it with Miya when his father stopped him.

"That's enough, Ryo," Takuma commanded. "The girl is right. There is no such thing as luck in martial arts." He picked up Yuri in his arms. "Come. We will take our leave."

Ryo has no other choice but to do as his father wishes. Glaring at Miya, he turns and follows his father and Robert, Takuma carrying his sister.

"So that was Kyokugenryu, huh?" Miya asked.

"One of the styles," Ryu replied. "You can say that because of this, you made some new rivals from the Kyokugenryu school."

Miya looked at her brother. "Sounds like you're worried about me."

"Not really," Ryu replied.

Miya took her sword from Ken and turned from the two men. "I'll catch up with you two later. There's something I have to do."

"Like what?" Ken asked.

"Paying my repects to my sensei," Miya replied. "She lives here in Southtown. She taught me several styles of swordfighting and is a former friend of my foster mother's."

"Well, we need to get going ourselves," Ryu replied. "Chun Li and Eliza should be arriving in Southtown in the hour."


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter Five: Advice 

-Southtown International Airport-

Both Chun Li and Eliza's flights were scheduled to arrive at the same time, but at different gates, Eliza's from Seattle, Chun Li's from Hawaii.

Chun Li's plane has just landed and the passengers are disembarking. It didn't take Ryu long to see Chun Li. After all, who else wears their hair in a recognizable style such as those buns?

Chun Li was dressed down in a sundress. In one hand, was a sports bag. As soon as Ryu spotted her, she spotted him. A smile spread across her face she dropped her bag and rushed over to her husband. Ryu caught her in a tight embrace, hugging her tight as she pulled him in for a long, slow kiss.

"I missed you so much," she whispered.

Ryu kissed her on the forehead. "So did I," he replied softly. "How was Hawaii?"

"Boring," she replied as Ryu picked up her bag. "I don't see why they had to send me to Hawaii for some boring seminar. I was better off in Japan."

"Comes with being a top-notch field analyst, I suppose."

"So how's Miya?" Chun Li asked. "Is she behaving herself?"

"Maybe I should start from the beginning," Ryu replied.

* * *

-Karuta (Ryuhaku Todo's stage from AOF 1)-

A Japanese-style park, complete with several connecting shrines via bridges. Miya was walking across one of the aforementioned bridges. She knew that her sensei, a female kendoist who was married to a former Yakuza assassin and was also in the same profession in her younger days, now retired and living in Southtown. Miya had changed out of her fighting attire from earlier and into something more appropriate: a sleeveless navy blue dogi top and black hakama pants, with a black belt wrapped around her waist. Her Muramasa sword, in its scabbard, was in her right hand.

From somewhere within the garden, Miya heard a bamboo flute playing. Following the sounds of the music, Miya found the person that she was looking for.

Her former sensei and mentor, Reika Kobayashi.

The woman was kneeling on the floor, playing the flute with general ease. Like Miya, she was dressed in a dogi jacket and hakama, only hers was black and white. She was thiry-five, but could pass for someone much younger (think O-Ren Ishii from Kill Bill, only older). Her shiny black hair was done in a single braid and fell down her back. Like Miya, she was also armed, but instead of a sword, she had two wooden bokkens with her.

Reika stopped playing and turned around. When she saw that it was her favorite pupil, she broke into a smile. "Miya," she said.

Miya bowed. "Sensei." She then embraced the older woman, who returned the hug.

The two former assassins walked along the pathway. "I've heard about Junko," Reika said of Miya's late foster mother. "You have my sympathies. She was a good woman, and a good friend. I trust that you did what was necessary?"

Miya knew that she was talking about avenging her foster mother, which she did. "I have."

"That's good to hear," Reika replied. "I've also heard that Sakamura has challenged you to a duel, which is why you're here in Southtown."

Miya nodded. "Do you know anything about Eimi, sensei?"

"I should, since she was my husband's student. One of his best pupils. He taught her Iado, ninjitsu and bujitsu. He always said that it would be a matter of time before our pupils would meet in a match. Looks like he was right." She looked at Miya and grinned. "I also heard that you made quite the impression last night at the Pao Pao Cafe with Geese Howard. It's not everyday you thrash his bodyguard like that. Now everyone in the city with a martial arts background wants to fight the woman who defeated several of the city's top fighters."

Miya sighed. "Story of my life. I can't get a moment's peace. But it comes with the territory of being a fighter."

"That's what I always liked about you, Miya," Reika said. "You have an extraordinary gift with the sword, but you remain humble, not arrogant. You have a high degree of humility around your personality. So tell me, Miya...since Shadowlaw is gone, what do you plan on doing?"

"I've given some thought about becoming a freelance assassin," Miya replied, "but I've decided that I've had enough bloodshed and revenge for a lifetime. You can say that training under my brother has given me a new outlook in life."

Reika blinked. "Your brother?"

Miya nodded. "Yeah. I didn't find out until a while ago, shortly before Mom died. His name is Ryu Hoshi."

Reika nodded. "I know him by his reputation. It is said that he is one of the best fighters in the world. And he took you on as his student?"

"Yes. In Ansatsuken."

"The Assassin's Fist," Reika noted. "The style in which you can kill a person in a single strike. I've thought that it was just a rumor. I never knew that it actually existed. Interesting."

"Anyway," Miya continued, "I've decided that I was going to start over and open up a kendo school in Tokyo. The grand opening had to be pushed back because Eimi challenged me to a duel. That and some last-minute rennovations on the place."

"Are you sure that's what you want to do?" Reika asked.

Miya nodded. "I'm sure. I promised my mother before she died that I would do good with my life, rather than fall back into a life of crime."

"Well, in that case," Reika replied, "I wish you luck in your new endeavors, Miya. And also, you have my blessings for your new dojo."

"Thank you, sensei."

Reika then put on an evil smile. "Well then, since you're here, why don't you show me what you learned." She produced a bokken and handed it to Miya as she took the other one.

Miya accepted the challenge. "If you insist, sensei."

The two female combatants stepped out into the garden.

* * *

Meanwhile...

"First King, now Yuri," Mai said as she and Mary walked down the street, near Karuta. Apparently, Andy had told her about Yuri challenging Miya to a match...and losing earlier that day, and Mai told Mary as they walked in the direction of Karuta.

"If Miya doesn't be careful," Mai continued, "she'll have the entire Kyokugenryu school on her tail."

"Miya is a trained assassin," Mary rebuked. "You saw what happened last night at the cafe. She could most likely take down the Kuokugenryu school, and probably Geese Howard if she wanted to. And if she pulls that off that would most definitely save up on paperwork."

The ominous sounds of battle reached both women's ears. They both decided to check it out. Upon reaching Karuta, they saw Miya Hoshi fighting an older woman in an impromptu sword duel. Instead of bladed weapons, Mary and Mai saw that they were using bokkens. They knew that Miya was good, but the older woman was the epitome of Japanese swordfighting.

Reika saw that Miya wasn't making any mistakes, and that she wasn't rushing to attack, which was a fatal flaw in most kendoists. Instead, she was methodically advancing, attacking and deflecting Reika's blows.

Mary and Mai looked at the ongoing battle with interest. "Maybe Miya's bit off more than she could chew," Mary said.

"Maybe," Mai replied.

* * *

As the battle continued, both women paused for a moment.

"You've learned much," Reika said.

"I'm full of surprises, sensei," Miya replied as she attacked.

From the sidelines, both Mary and Mai looked at each other. "Sensei?" they both said.

"Funny. So am I," Reika replied. "There's one final technique I haven't taught you...until now."

Miya prepared herself. Whatever her sensei had up her sleeve was ususally...bad.

Reika held her bokken at the ready. "Consider this my final lesson to you, Miya...Chishio no Mai!"

The Chishio no Mai, or Blood Dance, was the single most deadliest move that Reika Kobayashi had ever devised. The move is simple. Reika charged at Miya, her psychomotor reflexes kicking in. Unlike Miya, whose reflexes were a family trait that was enhanced by Shadowlaw technology, Reika's reflexes were a natural talent. Reika's bokken lashed out with a speed to rival that of Chun Li's Hykaretsu Kyaku.

Mary and Mai watched in facination as Miya deflect the majority of the blows. But for Miya, it wasn't enough, since the last blow had knocked her bokken out of her hand.

Reika was the winner. Miya held her hands up in defeat. "I concede, sensei."

Reika smiled. "I know you do, Miya."

Teacher and student bowed, Miya being a good sport about losing to her former teacher.

"So there is a person that can beat you in this city after all."

Miya turned to the sound of the voice. Mary and Mai were approaching the two female kendoists. Miya gestured to Reika with a nod. "She should, after all, since she is my sensei," she replied. "About your friends..."

Mai cut her off. "It's okay. They've been hit with worse. It comes with being a fighter."

Mary looked at Reika, then back at Miya. "You do know who she is, right?"

Miya nodded. "She a retired Yakuza assassin. I know."

Mary folded her arms across her chest. "You should know, since you yourself was a Shadowlaw assassin."

Miya gave the Southtown cop a smug grin. "You've been doing your homework. To tell you the truth, I prefer a less provacative title. Something along the lines of 'operative.' Besides, I wasn't a high-profile assassin like my teammates. It's true I killed for Shadowlaw, but only minor members who offended the General. I just dealt with mostly recon and espionage."

"So why are you here?" Mary asked. "We were there last night at the cafe when Geese confronted you. What did he want?"

"He asked me to join him, and I refused. If you want, I can explain over lunch."

That caught Mary's attention. "You're buying?"

Miya nodded. "Of course"

* * *

On the way to the hotel, Ryu was finishing up all of the events that had transpired as Chun Li drove to the hotel. The Chinese Interpol agent let out a low whistle. "Wow...never knew that she had a run-in with Geese Howard and his men. And she refused his offer?" 

Ryu nodded. "You think that's bad, there's more."

"Oh, I'm all ears"

* * *

Meanwhile, in Chinatown, inside a Chinese restaurant three women were seated at a table, having lunch at their hostess' expense. 

Miya had changed out of the hakama and into a sleevless white shirt, a dark gray pair of pants and her favorite pair of Shadowlaw boots. She was entertaining Mary Ryan and Mai Shiranui about her numerous marriage proposals to various men, because of the fact that she was a former Shadowlaw member and an expert with the sword.

"You get marriage proposals from all kinds of men?" Mai asked.

Miya nodded. "Yeah. Businessmen looking for bodyguards, various Japanese Yakuza clans and Chinese Triad organizations. I even got one from a North Korean officer."

"Someone in North Korea was interested in you?" Mary asked.

The former doll nodded. "Yeah. But when I said no, he sent a squad of North Korean Special Forces to try and kidnap me. Unfortunately, it ended real bad for them."

"I remember hearing about that," Mary said. "I didn't know that was your handiwork."

Miya smiled evilly. "It was when Ryu and Chun Li were gone on their honeymoon when they came. They came at the dead of night. Three, four in the morning, I think. I think there were about six, seven of them at the most. Fortunately the call of nature had woke me up and I heard them in my room. So I picked up my sword and rushed them. They didn't stand a chance. After a few moments, they retreated and I haven't heard from them since."

"I also recognized some of your moves," Mary noted. "You never said that you knew Muay Thai."

Miya shook her head. "Not Muay Thai. Lethwei, or Burmese Boxing. I use a variant called Kachin Lethwei. I've learned Lethwei when I was about twelve, and when I was in Shadowlaw, Sagat took me on as his student when I was fifteen."

Mai blinked. "Victor Sagat? THE Sagat? The Muay Thai Emperor?"

Miya nodded. "One in the same. Both Muay Thai and Lethwei are similar in both style and technique, so he took me on as his pupil."

"Is he REALLY that tall?" Mai asked. "And did your brother scar him for life?"

"Seven-feet-four," Miya replied. "As for that incident, it was an accident. About four, five years ago, Sagat was the Street Fighter champion. Ryu and his friend Ken competed in the tournament, but Ryu had the chance to fight Sagat. Ryu was a novice and Sagat was overconfident in his position as champion. Ryu ended up going into the Dark Hadou to defeat Sagat, hence the scar on his chest. They fought again in the second tournament, and Ryu defeated him again, this time without the Dark Hadou."

"You always carry that sword with you?" Mary asked, gesturing to Miya's Muramasa, which was perched next to her.

Miya nodded. "You never know who you're going to meet next who wants to challenge you to a duel."

As the three female martial artists chatted with each other, several men were seated at the far end of the restaurant. They were South Korean, and all were looking at Miya with loathing.

Kim Kaphwan remembered Miya all too well. Two years ago, Miya was in South Korea with Xiayu and Yanyu on a recon mission. Then someone from Kaphwan's Taekwondo school challenged Miya to a match while Kim was away. Needless to say, Miya defeated the challenger with ease. Then the entire school was on her and her two friends. But the trio's Shadowlaw training made certain that they emerged victorious...eventhough she had inadvertantly trashed Kaphwan's dojo in the process.

When Kim returned, he saw that his dojo was trashed and nearly all of his students were hospitalized for minor injuries. Not only that, but his dojo's reputation was insulted. Kim also heard rumors that Shadowlaw operatives were behind the 'attack' on his school.

And one of them was seated not too far from one of the women responsible for trashing his dojo. Kim had encountered her when she was her other two friends...and lost, mianly because his mind was too caught up with the idea of vengeance. However, Xianyu and Yanyu were prepared to kill him when Miya, having more authority over them, allowed Kim to leave with his life.

Kim had never forgotten that day. It was also one of the reasons why he decided to, as he called it, 'walk the path of justice.'

Mai noticed Kim and the other three men looking at them. "What's Kaphwan and the others doing here?" she asked.

"Because of me," Miya replied matter-of-factly. "Is he alone?"

"Nope," Mary replied. "Choi, Chang and Jhun are with him. Just what exactly did you do?"

"When I was sixteen, I was on a recon mission with two other dolls, Xiayu and Yanyu in Seoul. One of Kaphwan's top students had challenged me to a battle inside his school."

"And you won," Mai surmised.

Miya nodded. "Then his entire school was on me. But Xiayu and Yanyu were with me and we fought them all. Unfortunately, his dojo was trashed in the process."

"You didn't kill anybody, didn't you?" Mary asked, eyebrow raised.

"I do have a set of morals," Miya replied. "I dont kill without provacation or cause. I basically stopped being an operative when Shadowlaw was destroyed. Unfortunately," she paused as she noticed Kim and his men walking over to her table, "some people won't let some things die."


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter Six: The Princess of Lethwei vs the Teacher of Justice 

Note: Find the refernece to 'Serenity.'

Kim Kaphwan, Choi Bounge, Chang Koehan and Jhun Hoon all stood around Miya's table, cutting off any points of escape for the former assassin. Mary and Mai both traded worried glances.

Miya, however, wasn't worried. She continued to sip at her tea. "Kim Kaphwan. It's been a while."

"Not long enough, assassin," Kim replied.

"Operative," Miya corrected. "And I'm not in that line of work anymore."

"I find that hard to believe," the white-hared man, Juhn Hoon butted in. "Once an assassin, always and assassin."

"And you are...?"

"Jhun Hoon," Jhun introduced himself. He then looked at Mary and Mai. "You two should be ashamed of yourselves. You're sipping tea with an enemy of justice."

Before Mary or Mai could reply, Miya cut in. "Your quarrel is with me, Kaphwan. Leave them out of it." She then looked at the fat, balding man and the short man in the fedora and eyeglasses. "Four against one is...quite unsettling odds. Whatever happened to fighting fair?"

"You didn't fight fair when you wrecked my school," Kim retorted.

"Your 'beloved' school isn't actually a beacon of truth, Kaphwan. Your top student was a sore loser and he sent the entire dojo on me and my two partners. It's not my fault that they lost. It's obvious that you want a rematch."

"Am I that readable?" Kim replied.

"But, you got backup, and my brother isn't here. Not that I needed his help anyway. Still, four against one is bad odds."

"Just to make sure that you don't try anything funny," Kim replied.

"I should be saying the same about you, Kaphwan. You want your rematch, you got it."

In the meantime, Mary and Mai had moved from their seats and were watching from a safe distance.

Miya then looked at Kim with a cold glare. "But...should your men try and interfere..." she pointed to the Muramasa that was resting nearby, "...that will be the end result. Agreed?"

Kim nodded grimly. "Agreed."

Miya grinned evilly. There was nothing like a good battle to set her soul ablaze, and this was one of them. "Good. Let's dance."

From her chair, Miya punted the table at Kim, who broke it into several pieces with his foot. Kim then found out that was only a distraction, since Miya had somersaulted towards him, and the fight was on.

Miya began the battle with a series of punches and elbows, using her Lethwei fighting style and a combination of acrobatics and gymnastics. Kim was the master of Taekowndo, and he was for a hard time, as was Miya.

Kim retaliated with a flurry of kicks. Most of which Miya had blocked, but some did went through her defenses. Kim managed to knock her down with his Backflip Kick, but when Kim tried to capitalize on his advantage, Miya caught him with her Lethwei Knee (i.e., her version of Sagat's Tiger Crush), this time, knocking him to the ground.

Miya hopped back to her feet, spat out the wad of blood form her mouth, and shifted into her Lethwei stance.

Kim got back to his feet as well. "So...you know Muay Thai?"

"Not Muay Thai," Miya replied. "Kachin Lethwei."

"Be it Lethwei or be it Muay Thai," Kim shot back, pointing to the former operative, "evil is unforgivable! You will pay for your crimes against my school!"

"Your friend is seriously bent," Miya said to Mai in Japanese.

Kim threw out a snap kick, then spun around with a thrust kick with his other leg. Miya saw it coming, her psychomotor reflexes coming into play. She sent one of her elbows crashing into Kim's face, followed by several low kicks to the shin. Kim then backflipped and slid across the ground, knocking Miya's feet out from under her. While she was in the air, Kim leapt up and slammed his foot into her torso, sending her to the ground hard.

From the sidelines, Chang and Choi, cheered, while Jhun looked on in approval.

But Miya, having been hit harder than that, was back on her feet. Cracking her neck muscles, she went back into her stance. Pain was something that she was used to, but Miya ignored it. Now it was time for her training to really kick in. When Kim came in with a jumping dive kick, Miya balled one hand into a fist and leapt into the air.

"Lethwei Blow!"

Similar to Sagat's own infamous Tiger Blow, with the exception that her version, called the Lethwei Blow could only hit three times instead of Sagat's seven hits. Miya's fist caught Kim on the kisser and knocked him to the ground as Miya landed on her feet. The Japanese fighter began to methodically move in on Kim as he saw her coming in.

Kim scrambles back on his feet. Miya faked a left punch, then nailed him with a hard right, followed by a left elbow. Kim tagged her back with a punch to her face. Miya ducked underneath a roundhouse kick to her head and executed a foot sweep, knocking Kim back to the floor.

"I am not some evil warrior seeking to prove a point," Miya noted as Kim rolled back to his feet. "You are not the plucky hero, nor this is the grand arena."

She went back into her Lethwei stance. A second later, she lunged at Kim, driving her elbow into his face. Kim barely blocked the blow until Kim felt Miya's leg bouncing off of his own leg. Once, twice, until the third knocked Kim off his feet, causing him to land hard on his back.

Watching the fight from the sidelines, Mai and Mary took notes on Miya's fighting style.

"She's very good," the blonde noted.

"Yeah," the buxom ninja admitted. "She's really giving Kim a run for his money."

They both winced as Miya went into a combo, which concluded with Miya driving her elbow into Kim's head. Which was then followed by another combo. A punch to the gut, which was followed by a knee to the same area, then another punch to the face, followed by a thrust kick to the chest plate and a double power punch to his chest.

Kim tried to retaliate with a flurry of kicks, but Miya's own kick caught him in the throat. The fight now was clearly in Miya's favor. She knocked Kim's fist away with her foot and lunged in. Grabbing a handful of Kim's uniform, she began to deliver a series of elbows and forearms to Kim's face, until she leveled him with an uppercut, sending Kim to the floor writhing in pain.

Kim's companions were in shock. Their leader was fallen at the hands of Miya Hoshi. When Miya turned her back from the fallen Taekwondo fighter, Kim, eventhough he had lost, got back to his feet. He was going to win, no matter what the cost.

Even if it meant striking a person when their back is turned.

With a yell, Kim lunged at her, kneefirst, hoping to lay the victor out with his final move: the Phoenix Flattener. Kim, however, wasn't expecting Miya to leap into the air, spinning towards him.

The last thing he saw before losing consciousness was Miya's knee closing in on his face.

**KRACK!**

Mary and Mai winced as knee connected with face. Miya landed on her feet, while Kim was flat on his back. This time, he wasn't getting up.

From Kim's side, Jhun looked at his fallen mentor, then back at Miya with a look that was nothing short of unbelivable. Then it was replaced with rage.

Miya saw the look on his face and guessed what he was planning. "Don't try it," she warned.

Jhun didn't heed Miya's warning. He leapt in, spinning, leg outstretched in a split. When he missed, he spun around, just as...

**WHAM!**

"Lie down..."

**WHAM! KA-POW!**

"...and **DIE**!"

Jhun found himself at the receiving end of Miya's version of Ryu's Shinshoryuken, better known as the Twin Fists of Death. Luckily, Jhun wasn't killed as he fell back to the ground in the same state as Kim. He had a couple of broken ribs, due to the devestating impact of Miya's Psycho Hadou-powered fists.

Chang Koehan was the next to try his luck. Iron ball in hand, he spun it around his head before swinging it at Miya. Only the ball struck nothing but air. Then Chang felt a pair of thighs squeezing his neck. He then realised that Miya had somersaulted out of the iron ball's way and landed on his head.

The next thing he felt was numerous elbows being driven into the bald spot of his head, which was then followed with Miya kicking herself off of him, feet into his face, knocking him into another table.

Choi was the last one of the Korean Team. Armed with his bladed gloves, the diminuintive member of the Korean Team spun towards Miya, blades first. However, in a quick instant, Miya had her Muramasa in her hand and unsheathed.

**WHACK!**

Choi was propelled back with a backhand swing from Miya's weapon. Fortunate for him, Miya had smacked him with the flat side of the blade. There would be an angry welt on his chest when he wake up later on.

As Miya slid her sword back into its scabbard, Mai and Mary looked at the carnage in shock. Miya had defeated the entire Korean Team. Her face bruised and battered, Miya went to her knees, hands together and raised, head bowed in the Muay Thai fashion. She then got back up and looked at her handiwork. Kim and Chang was unconscious, while Jhun and Choi were writhing in pain. Balancing the sword on her shoulder, she turned to the owner of the restaurant.

Miya pulled out several hundred dollar bills and handed them over to the owner. "Sorry about the mess," she said as she left the building. Mary and Mai soon followed her.

"Are you okay?" Mai asked.

Miya nodded. "I've been hit with worse. I'll live."

"Come on," Mary said. "We'll drive you back to your hotel."


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter Seven

After a night on the town with Chun Li, Ken and Eliza, Ryu and the others returned to the hotel. As they walked across the lobby, they saw Mary Ryan and Mai Shiranui exit one of the elevators. Ryu suspected that they were hanging with Miya earlier in the day. The blonde cop and the Shirnaui kunoichi noticed the Japanese Ansatsuken master, his blond counterpart and their respective wives heading in their direction.

Almost immediately, Ryu's thoughts were of Miya. "Where's Miya?" he demanded.

"She's in her room," Mai replied. She and Mary then went on to tell him about the confrontation she had with Kaphwan and his companions. Ryu sighed. He knew Kaphwan personally and he knew that Kim would hold a grudge. Even against Miya.

"Is she okay?" Chun Li asked, also worried for her sister-in-law.

Mary let out a breath. "You should have been there, Chun Li. You sister-in-law is quite an amazing fighter."

"I'm glad she's on our side," the Chinese fighter replied.

In Miya's room, Miya, wearing nothing but a bathrobe, was running a towel through her hair. The bruises that she had from her fight with Kaphwan and his Korea Team were already starting to fade, thanks to her ability to heal, which was a result of a combination of Shadowlaw messing with her genetic structure and her Psycho Hadou.

Wrapping the towel around her head, Miya walked over to the door and opened it, just as Ryu was raising his hand to knock.

"Mary and Mai told you?" Miya asked as she allowed Ryu to enter.

"Yeah, but the entire Korean Team?" Ryu said as he walked into the room, closing the door behind him.

"I was supposed to fight Kaphwan, but after he was defeated, well...his friends didn't take it all too well. I had no choice but to defend myself. I never thought he would go this far. I'd always thought that he would forgive me concerning my past. Looks like I was wrong."

Ryu folded his arms across his chest. "Kim is someone that basically holds a grudge should he doesn't win. I should know."

Kim and the others were getting his injuries treated at one of Southtown's hospitals. Kim had a concussion on his temple, not to mention numerous bruises, Jhun was getting his ribs wrapped, since Miya had cracked them, Choi was getting a salve applied to his reddened chest. Chang had the top part of his head bandaged.

"Damn it!" Kim swore. "I LOST again! This is unacceptable! Justice should never lose!"

Jhun grunted in pain. "That move she did on me...I've seen it before. Another person uses that move."

Kim looked up. "What move?"

Jhun described the move to Kim, who immediately recognized it. "The Shinshoryuken. That's an Ansatsuken technique that only Ryu Hoshi uses. What's his connection to Miya?"

Jhun then remembered something from the previous night. "I was at the Pao Pao Cafe last night when Miya came in with Ryu and his blond friend. I also saw her take down several highly skilled fighters, including the French kickboxer and Geese's staff-wielding right hand man. And I've heard rumors that Sakazaki's sister, Yuri, had also fought her, and lost as well. I've heard rumors that Ryu had trained a second student in the Murderous Fist. Miya might be just that person."

"That could be just coincidence," Chang said.

Jhun shook his head. "I don't think so."

"Is Ryu still in the city?"

"I think so."

Kim winced as the nurse finished tending to his wounds. "He has a lot of explaining to do. And he could explain to us what his connection to Miya is."

-At the Kyokugenryu School...-

King walked into the dojo, where Yuri was at work, praticing. Eventhough both King and Yuri had lost to Miya, Yuri had taken it even more harder than King did, since her family was watching the battle when Yuri lost. Yuri was growling as she worked the punching bag even harder, up until she was exhausted. Like all that had faced Miya, she was bandaged up. There was a bandage aboce her right eye and several more wrapped around her arms and wrists.

King herself was no better. The bruises on her face had started to heal., but she was still in no posistion to fight. At least, not for a couple of days. But she took her loss slightly better than Yuri.

"Still mad about Miya?" she asked.

"What do you think?" Yuri shot back.

Before King could reply, Robert walked into the dojo. "That was Mary. Looks like Miya's crossed paths with Kaphwan."

Yuri looked up. "Did Kim beat the crap out of her?" she asked, hope in her eyes.

"More like Miya beat the crap out of Kim and his three flunkies," he replied. He then went on to tell them the details.

Yuri shook her head. "So the rumors about her being a former Shadowlaw assassin were true. No wonder she's tough to beat. And Mary and Mai's okay with that?"

"There's something else," Robert continued. "Ryu's also married."

King blinked. "Who in their right mind would marry THAT guy?" she snorted. "He's more obsessed with fighting than Ryo and Andy combined."

"What do you know about Chun Li Xiang?" Robert asked.

"I've seen her fight several times in Japan," Yuri noted. "She's an expert in Kenpo, right?"

"And Wushu Kung Fu," Robert added. "From what I managed to find out, she and Ryu go way back. Their respctive teachers were friends. They've known each other since childhood."

"Wait," King interrupted. "You're saying that Chun Li is Ryu's wife?"

Robert nodded. "Terry told me that they were married several months ago in Hong Kong. She also knows about Miya's past as a former member of Shadowlaw."

"And she's okay with it?" Yuri butted in.

"According to a buddy of mine in Interpol," Robert replied, "Miya had given up several critical documents concerning Shadowlaw's movements and gave the locations of several safehouses. As a result, she was given probation."

King shook her head. "Some people have all the luck."

-The following morning...-

On the hotel's rooftop, where she watched the sun rise, Miya Hoshi decided to train. Dressed in her hakama pants and a tanktop, she was going through one of the more complicated katas with her Muramasa sword.

The match was only one day away, since she received word from one of Sakamura's bodyguards that the day of the fight was going to be moved up, since Eimi's father was coming to Southtown. and decided to let her brother and sister-in-law know in advance that she doesn't wanted to be bothered, that she wanted time out to prepare.

The younger sister of Ryu praticed without abandon, her sword an extension of herself, as if it was a living, breathing thing. For several hours, she praticed uninterrupted.

"It's good to see that none of my training has gone to waste," Reika said from the door.

Miya turned around. "Sensei. How did you find me?"

Reika walked over to her former pupil. instead of her hakama, she was dressed in a pair of pants, a shirt, which was partialy concealed by her leather jacket, which reached to her calves. "I always know where you are, Miya. I trained you, remember? So the big day is tomorrow, I take it."

Miya nodded. "It is."

"Nervous?"

Miya shook her head. "It's the opposite. I can't wait for the tomorrow. Where's Eimi?"

"She's preparing, like you. Her father's arrived this morning. She's spending time with him, as well as with my husband, who is giving her some last-minute pointers. Her father's also a martial artist, you know." Reika chuckled. "You never told me that you ran into Kaphwan yesterday. You got the martial arts hierachy in an uproar over what you did to Kaphwan and his partners."

"Want to hear the whole story?" Miya asked.

"I'm all ears."

Meanwhile, in the park where Yuri was defeated by Miya the previous day, Ryu watched as Chun Li performed several stretches, following their morning sparring session. Right now, the Chinese Interpol agent had one of her legs in a perfect vertical split. She was wearing one of her usual training jumpsuits, only this time, it was white with red trim and a pair of matching sneakers. Her hair was done in a single braid and held in place with her husband's headband.

Ryu noticed that those training suits doesn't do her justice. He knew that his wife had a lithe body and wasn't afraid to show it. Chun Li knew this as well, and that served as a good distraction when she was fighting men.

Chun Li noticed the smug grin on her husband's face. "See anything you like?" she asked teasingly.

"Maybe," he replied.

Chun Li feigned mocked anger as she threw a kick at Ryu's head, which Ryu avoided easily. "'Maybe?'" she replied. "Then why'd you marry me then?"

"You're smart, funny, and can be a total pain at times," Ryu replied truthfully as he blocked several of Chun Li's punches. "And you got a nice body, so that's a bonus." He then caught her wrist and with his other hand, pulled her closer. This time, Chun Li couldn't resist.

The romantic moment, however, was interrupted with someone clearing their throat.

Ryu and Chun Li looked at the newcomers. Kim Kaphwan, the right seide of his face bandaged from where Miya had kneed him, stood before them. Chang, Choi and Jhun, also bandaged up from their failed attempt on attacking Miya, stood behind them.

Seeing the effects of Miya's attacks on Kim and his three teammates didn't surprise Ryu one bit. After all, he knew first-hand what his sister was capable of. 'If she's capable of doing this to Kaphwan and his guys, imagine what kind of damage she could to Geese himself,' he thought.

Ryu relased his hold on Chun Li and faced Kim. "You don't look to good, Kaphwan."

"Spare me your sympathies," Kim said bluntly. "What's your connection to Miya?"

"Why you want to know?" Ryu asked.

"She used a move on me that I know that only you used," Jhun butted in. "The Shinshoryuken."

"She calls it the Twin Fists of Death, a more different name than the one I use," Ryu explained.

"So you know her then? Do you know that she is a former Shadowlaw assassin?"

"We do," Chun Li replied.

Kim turned to Chun Li. "And who are you?"

"Chun Li Xiang," she introduced herself.

Kim recognized the name. "The Wushu mistress...and a officer of the law. Why didn't you do anything about Miya? You, a follower of justice."

"Believe it or not, Miya has made peace with herself and with her past," Chun Li explained. "She decided to go legit after she left Shadowlaw."

"You still haven't answered my previous question, Ryu," Kim butted in. "Who is Miya to you?"

"Isn't it obvious, Kaphwan?" Ryu replied. "Miya is my sister."

The look on Kim's face was priceless. "Miya is your...sister?" Kim sputtered out.

Ryu nodded, arms folded. "She is also trained in Ansatsuken. Mainly because I trained her and in six months, she is a black belt, only a level below myself and Ken."

Kim was still shocked. The enemy of his school was Ryu's sister. "That's not true. That's impossible!"

Ryu shook his head. "No, it's the truth. I got a shock out of it myself, but Miya is my sister."

Kim wasn't responding. His expression didn't change. Jhun noticed it. "Looks like he's out of it," he said. "Let's get him out of here."

As soon as Kim and the others had left, Chang carrying their leader, who was still in shock ofer this latest revelation. Chun Li turned to Ryu. "What was that all about?" she asked.

Ryu gave her the quick verison of Miya's history with Kaphwan and his school. Chun Li nodded in understanding. "Sort of reminds me of myself when you first told me that Miya was your sister."

"At least you took it well," Ryu replied. "I thought you were going to kill me for that."

"The thought crossed my mind," Chun Li replied. She then wrapped Ryu's arm around her waist. "Come on. I'm hungry, Buy me breakfast." 


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter Eight: The Duel 

Note: I've modeled Eimi's father after the Japanese actor Sonny Chiba (Kill Bill version).

-Karuta-

Southtown, nighttime. Several prominent members of Southtown's martial arts hierachy were all gathered at the gardens where Miya had fought Reika several days earlier. The good guys were on one side while Geese was on the other side, flanked by Billy, Ripper and Hopper. Ryu, Chun Li, Ken, the Bogard brothers, their respective women, and the Kyokugenryu gang were present to watch this dramatic battle.

Meanwhile, a third party had made their presence known. Geese turned to his right and saw that a well-dressed Japanese man around his age has joined him. He was about his height, and muscular, with black hair neatly combed back and a trimmed moustache. The man was also flanked by his son, who had delivered the challenge to Miya days earlier, and two more men. From the look of things, all three (except the son) were Yakuza.

Geese regained his composure. The person that was standing next to him was Eimi's father, Roka Sakumura, the boss of bosses of Kyoto. Where Geese had build his criminal empire through murder and corruption, Roka had to fight his rival to become Kyoto's big boss. Unlike Geese, who was into every aspect of organized crime, Roka never dealt in drugs, and raised his children in the same manner. He dealt swift justice to whoever opposed him (which happened rarely) and those wise enough to get on his good side were left alone. Simply put, Roka had used his position as Kyoto's Yakuza boss in order to keep the peace.

Roka was also a superb martial artist. Like Geese, he was also trained in the styles of Kobojitsu and Akijutsu. He fought in several fight clubs and tournaments just to keep in shape. Like Geese, he his his age very well and was given the nickname 'Genma.'

"Sakamura," Geese greeted curtly.

"Geese," Roka replied in the same manner.

"So what brings you to my city?" Geese asked.

Roka pointed to his daughter, who was standing nearby with her sensei. "My daughter. I came to support her in her little match against Miya."

"So you know about her then."

Roka nodded. He had offered her a job in Kyoto, but Miya refused. "Yes. Her skills with the sword are extaordinary."

On the other side, Mary nudged Chun Li. "Who the Japanese guy with Geese?"

"Roka Sakamura, aka the Genma," Chun Li replied. "He's the Yakuza boss in Kyoto. You can say that he's the polar opposite of Geese Howard."

"Why they call him the Genma?" Mary asked.

"He's unrivaled in the Kyoto martial arts scene. From what I heard he could go toe-to-toe with Geese and win."

Meanwhile the two criminal bosses were still talking.

"Just so we understand each other," Roka continued, his eyes leveled on Geese, "because I know how you work, Geese: there is to be no outside interference during this duel. If someone interferes, then I will see it as someone on your end, and violence will ensue."

"And if I say no?" Geese retorted, his men obviously ready to rumble should their boss gives them the word.

Roka smiled evilly. "Then I will seize Southtown and expand...once I get you out of the way, that is. You maybe the 'King of Southtown,' but even a king is no match for the Genma."

Geese knew that Roka wasn't bluffing. He had seen him fight and since they both trained under the same teacher in Kobujitsu, he also knew the counter moves as well. His lips grim, Gesse spat out through his teeth, "Agreed."

Out in the garden, which was the stage for the battle, Ryu and Reika were at Miya's side. The younger Hoshi was dressed in a new hakama: a white top with dark red split pants. Wristguards adorned both her lower arms. Her Murumasa sword was tucked in her belt. Miya's expression was neutral, but her body language showed that she couldn't hold her anticipation any longer. Paper lanterns adorned the area, as well as torches.

"You ready?" Ryu asked.

"I'm ready," Miya replied.

"I got faith in you, Miya," Reika said. "Good luck."

Ryu and Reika stepped back as Miya and Eimi stepped forward. Eimi was dressed in a red ninja costume (if you've seen the Ninja Scroll anime movie, it's Kagero's ninja costume, only hers is black with red trim). In one hand was her own sword, gripped by the scabbard. Eimi's own sword lacked a guard, which made it more lighter to carry.

"Today's the day, Miya," Eimi said.

"It is," Miya replied.

Eimi turned away from Miya and took several steps forward. "Before we begin, there's something I need to get off my chest concerning you."

"Oh?"

"I've never seen someone with such clear eyes, nor a clear conscience," Eimi said. She sighed. "There. I've said it. Are you ready, Miya?"

Miya was on the balls of her feet. "I was born ready."

Eimi smiled. "Good. That's all I need to hear."

In a flash, the sword was out its sheath and Eimi was somesaulting towards Miya, whose sword was already out as well and the match was on, fast and furious, the blades on the two womens' swords clashing and delivering sparks as they engaged in a ferocious sword battle (Think the Anakin/Obi Wan Mustafar duel, minus the Force attacks).

Miya saw that Eimi was incredibly fast with her sword, possibly up to her speed. She also saw three main styles that she used, mostly kenjitsu, a variant of Iaido and ninjitsu. That fact made Miya's blood set ablaze with fighting a worthy challenger as she fought her opponent.

Eimi scored the first attack with a snap thrust kick to Miya's stomach, forcing Miya back several feet. Miya shook it off and resumed her assault, her blade spinning towards Eimi, who was forced back by Miya's attacks. The battle started to move from the garden...and into the audience, mainly where Geese and Roka were standing.

The two bosses and their men quickly hopped out of the way, lest they would become part of the battle in a very bad way. And the last thing both Roka and Geese needed to be was part of the collateral damage from the battle as Miya and Eimi fought across the shrines, the gathered occupants getting out of the way (Ryu, Ken and their respective wives included) of the two female kendoists.

Miya and Eimi locked their swords, Miya having the strength advantage, began to force Eimi down on one knee. In a desperation move, Eimi grabbed Miya's hakama top and threw her on her back, Miya losing her grip on her Murumasa. However, as Eimi advanced on Miya, preparing to end the match, but Miya was back on her feet and in one quick move, disarmed Eimi and repaid the favor by throwing her on the ground.

Eimi managed to get back on her feet and rushed Miya. She leapt into the air and planted both feet into Miya's chest in the form of a drop kick. She then retrieved her sword and advanced on Miya. The former Shadowlaw doll saw her coming and jumped back to her feet. Dodging Eimi's sword attacks, Miya caught Eimi in a power foot sweep, sending Eimi to the floor hard, and giving Miya enough time to retrieve her sword.

The battle resumed. This time, both women were more careful in their attacks, not giving their opponent a chance to gain the upper hand as the battle went back to the gardens. As the battle resumed, several people were watching the battle with great interest.

Takuma Sakazaki folded his arms and studied Miya's movments. "Hmm...she shows remarkable skill," he noted. He then addressed Yuri and King without turning to either woman. "It seems that the both of you have underestimated her."

Yuri shot a nasty look at her father. "What do you mean 'underestimated her?'"

"She just got lucky, that's all," King butted in.

The Kyokugenryu master shook his head. "There is no such thing as luck when it comes to martial arts, as she had said when you fought her, Yuri. She is indeed a force to be reckoned with." Takuma looked at the ongoing battle and sighed. "Pity. She would have made an excellent student in Kyokugenryu...especially on the Shoran level of study," he said, mentioning the highest degree of study in Kyokugenryu.

Meanwhile, the battle was starting to get intense. The former Shadowlaw doll and the daughter of Roka fought hard, metal crashing upon metal, sending sparks flying, the TING-TING-TING sounding like rapid fire. Even Geese himself couldn't see the swords, since they were moving way too fast. Then as before, they locked swords once again. Not wanting to be on the receiving end as before, Eimi pulled one hand back, which was at the moment balled into a fist. Miya was also thinking along the same lines and cocked her fist back.

Both fists connected, knocking both girls back several steps. Miya found herself resting up against a tree. Eimi charged at Miya, who quickly leapt back. Using the tree trunk, she propelled herself off of it and landed on the rooftop. Eimi followed suit as the audience piled into the gardens to watch the battle.

Eimi grunted as Miya's leg bounced off her torso. The battle resumed. Then Miya's head snapped back after Eimi's foot connected with her face. Miya somersaulted onto several wires, holding several paper lanterns, balancing on the wires like a tightrope. Much to everyone's surprise, Eimi gave chase, balancing on the wires with expertise as the battle continued. The two swordswomen fought...not to mention keeping their balance.

Then Eimi flipped back into the gardens, with Miya following her. The gathered fighters quickly gave them some room as the battle continued. Both women were bruised and banged up, not to mention that their energy reserves were low.

Eimi held her sword in her stance. "You...you ARE good," she said. "Even better than I had expected."

"And so are you," Miya replied, gripping the sword tightly in both hands.

Eimi paused for a moment. "Well...shall we end this?"

Miya slowly nodded. "To the winner...goes the spoils." She then raised her sword above her head.

Miya, however went another route. Miya raised her sword in a meditation stance (think Ben Kenobi before Vader killed him), and closed her eyes, her face at peace. Her mind went back to the events earlier that day, when Reika had 'taught' her the Blood Dance. Once Reika departed, Miya pratived the move and adjusted it to meet her own standards. She even gave it a new name, since one, Blood Dance was something that Reika used, and two, it was a mouthful in Japanese.

When Miya opened her eyes, she saw Eimi charging at her. She was less than a foot away.

"Ashura...TEMPEST!"

Miya then lunged forward, her sword moving with near-blinding speed. Eimi saw it coming and was forced to block the deadly blows. They were coming from everywhere at once. Miya's sword moved in an even-faster blur as Eimi started to lose her grip. Then her worst fears were realised when her sword was sent flying from her grasp. The weapon flipped several times before landing in front of Roka and Geese.

Miya swung her weapon, only to stop a mere inch from Eimi's throat. The spectators were shocked, save for Reika, Ryu and Ken. This match was over, with Miya as the winner.

Miya was trying to catch her breath, as was Eimi. "Do you yield, Eimi?" the ex-Shadowlaw kendoist asked.

Eimi slowly nodded. "I yield."

Miya lowered her sword and sheathed it. "You really are good, Eimi. You brought me to the brink."

"But you won," Eimi said. She then raised her hand to Miya in a form of friendship. Miya gave her challenger a grin and accepted the hand of her newest rival...and friend. The two swordswomen walked back to the gathered audience, who were piling out, with the exception of Geese and his men.

Most of them congratulated the younger sister of Ryu Hoshi for a good match. Reika had the proud look of a master. Even the Kyokugenryu gang had to come to respect Miya's swordfighting skills...to a certain degree.

Miya watched as Roka approached her daughter, the latter's expression forming into a frown. "Papa," Eimi began, but Roka cut her off.

"You don't have to say anything, Eimi," Roka explained. "You have gave it your all. I could have never been more proud of you with the way you carried yourself. You are indeed worthy of our family name." he placed one hand on her shoulder and smiled. "I am proud to call you my daughter."

Eimi embraced her father, the Kyoko Yakuza boss returning the hug. He then broke the embrace and turned to Miya. "And to you, young Miya, congratulation on winning the match."

Miya bowed slightly. "Thank you, Mr. Sakumura."

With a grin, Roka added, "I'll be wathcing your career with great interest."

As Roka passed Geese, the Southtown crime boss noticed the smile on his face. "What are you so happy about, Sakamura?" Geese demanded. "Your daughter lost the match!"

Roka turned to face his rival. "My daughter may have lost the match, Howard, but she carried herself with honor and dignity. That is something that you failed to realise." An evil grin crept across his face. "And that is why you will always remain second-best."

Roka wasn't surprised when Geese started to attack him following that remark. As the gathered fighters watched the impromptu fight, they saw that eventhough Geese was a top-notch fighter, he was definitely outclassed. Roka hadn't attacked yet, but he blocked and parried Geese's attacks with general ease.

Then his next move shocked everyone there.

As Geese threw out a straight punch to Roka's breastplate, Roka raised his arms in a familiar move that Ryu and the Southtown-based fighters immediately recognized.

Geese saw it too, but it was already too late. Roka grabbed Geese, flipped him over and slammed him on the wooden floor hard, Geese himself a victim of his own counter move.

Billy, Ripper and Hopper stepped in, preparing to attack, but Roka's men were already there, preparing to defend their boss if needed. Seeing as how they were outmanned, Billy and the other two men took Geese and made a hasty retreat.

Terry let out a low whistle. "He used Geese's Atemi Nage against him."

"Ouch," Ryo agreed.

Meanwhile, Reika was congratulating her former apprentice. "That was some move you did," she remarked.

Miya grinned. "You inspired me for it," she replied.

The former teacher had a look of surprise on her face. "Oh?"

"The Blood Dance," Miya explained. "I remodified it. I was going to call it Deadly Tempest, but that was too obvious."

"Enough of that," Ken butted in. "This calls for a celebration!"

The following morning, after spending all night inside the Pao Pao Cafe, it was time for Ryu, Ken, their respective wives, and Miya to head back home. Miya had already shipped her sword back to Japan, the address being Ryu's home.

Ken had already left for San Franciso with Eliza. Eimi had came along to say goodbye to Miya.

"It's been fun," Miya said.

Eimi nodded, smiling. "It has. You won the first round, Miya. I'm due for a rematch sometime down the road."

"I look forward to it."

The two kendoists shook hands, then shared an embrace. "See you around, Eimi," Miya said as she picked up her bags and followed Ryu and Chun Li down the terminal.

"Bye."

They soon disappeared into the ramp and onto their plane. Soon they will be back in Japan.

As Miya settled into her seat, a small smile crept on her face. She had made a new rival in swordfighting...as well as a friend.


End file.
